Any good project worth doing starts with a plan to acheive something, a fuzzy vision of how things could be better. (Usually the fuzzier the vision, the more important the project.)
The most logical next step is to plot out a plan that gets you moving in the right direction. (Easy right?)
But once on the the path to change, it will invariably look more like the yellow line than the orange one. Shifting priorities and needs, unforseen problems, incorrect assumptions and new information invariably take all projects in “interesting” directions. 
You can try to force things back towards the initial plan or you can embrace the side projects and new perspectives they bring and can celebrate the smalll wins along the way. 
And exciting things start to happen: things start to crawl forward, resistance subsides, course corrections are made, and the “there” we are heading towards gets “smarter” and seems just a little more possible than before. 
I can dig it. Here’s to embracing the peripheral progress and celebrating the small wins. Somebody has to!